Breathing between heaven and earth

The golden eagle came for a visit in my mind’s eye a couple of years ago – its hard to tell – since last week seems like a century ago – Now, I focus on the Great Eastern Sun for  teachings and illumination. Home of the Golden Eagle/Condor.

The visit came during corpse pose in a yoga class.  He was to guide me into an adventure!  I hopped on, trusted he knew where he was going.  Now I am involved in Shamanic healing practices – specializing in guided journeys.  The conjuring of painting images and messages of animals are now linked.

That took awhile.

Here’s the painting.

4 look far, stay close

Safe keeping down a furry gullet

OK. So it’s been a sustained busy time.  How much can be absorbed? How much can be NOTICED? What do you do with the NOTICED information? How much to discard?

While sitting today I got some answers from my power animals. TOO MUCH MOUSE energy.  This means “scrutiny”.  When you live in an unrenovated 1890’s house there’s a lot to see that’s “wrong”. See TOO much NOTICE TOO much and it creates agitation. So, my other power animal, the Jaguar wisely advised that he would swallow the mouse for awhile and give me some peace.

And you know, it worked.  I feel more refreshed and way less agitated.

I have new work to develop that requires a lot of mental space and clarity. BUT I also must do some more stuff clearing in a balanced way.

The deal is equanimity. Float like a leaf when living gets turbulent.  Just flow.

Mouse will return to his normal size when needed. Trust in the energy that flows into your crown.

Here is the 7th Chakra. Final.

7 Receive and Believe

Off with the leash!

2014 – Another year rocketed by. Fast? To me, yeah. Depends on your point of view.

I feel very off the leash of time  in the studio, particularly painting – there is a rhythmic timelessness that flows in the work. The surety of color selection and palette set up;  allowing  brushstrokes and color to flow finding the sure path. And yet, is mystery.  I knew none of this 30 years ago.

Yes, I get hungry. Yes, it gets cold. Yes, the light gets dim.  Those conditions are featured in ordinary reality. Creation and the channeling of ideas  happen outside of time.  I paint, harvesting  images making them sit and stay, in the field of time.

5 Truth. Trust. Tenacity final 2013

It feels good to trust your skills. Honed through thousands of hours of practice. Hundreds of fine brushes worn to stubs, still finding a last purpose before they are useless.

Here is the 5th finished painting in the chakra series.  I’ve decided to make 8 all together.  The 8th  is outside the field of time feeding us, and feeding itself  looping marvelously luminous creation.

Shine on everything. Every. Thing.

Life, death and torpor

Yep, that’s the Hummer I’m talking about.  She’s the subject of the 3rd chakra.  She moves backwards and forwards in time shedding the past, remaining radiant.  When she needs to go under to conserve her energy she is nearly dead.  Torpor, not lethargy or sloth, a deliberate shutting down to save her energy.

She is a great teacher.  Shine through any adversity. We have that ability. Yes, things may suck now and then. But within, we always shine.

Remember that.

3 Shine through it all

Doing, boing and pop

Life!  So full, so popping so BRIGHT.  I feel like my head and my heart and my feet are all on fire without crispy consequence.  This, is a good thing.

The run up to my mom’s death a year ago was  intense as such a time would be.  This one year anniversary is disturbing.  Acceptance of a parents death is a large chunk of heart medicine to down.

There has been a BOON to this event.  I was surprised to find choices I made and continue to make, are based on a delicious discerning freedom.

In addition, the quirky, annoying physical tweaks have ALL gone.  I have never been stronger.  I realized many of the physical issues had deep, commanding energetic roots.  Once they were routed, health prevails.

And the Chakra series continues, here is the 1st

1 Befriending the root

and 2nd.  The jaguar is the only animal whose eyes you do not see –  I see through them, from behind.

2 Create no fear

Weather in the portal

Beyond the Bone in the Grace room 2013

…Is fine.

I finished this piece a little while ago, I confess its a new favorite. I love it when that happens – It just totally holds together.  The root of the “success” is the subject matter, brought forth through a journey guided with heart.

Crisp, clear image appeared intact. It was like I got a deposit. This kind of thing happens pretty often I have to say – some images are deeper than others. Much like our days, some shine more than others – others are downright “what????. They are all the weaving of the fabric of our life.

And so we carry on, receiving, doing, being.

Do it with lightness, and care.

Portals of Grace

I changed my mind about what to immerse myself in next.  The portrait thing is an interesting exercise but won’t yield enough juice. Honestly, that ego monkey will try to sell you ANYTHING!  So I have to say “not now”.  Gotta be honest, right???

Instead I will do a series of 7 wood panel pieces – oh the delicious sturdiness of those boards!  I just have the drawings for starters.

Hold on there!  An image appeared that demanded to have life before the series.

I have obeyed it’s call.  Here is the underpainting and the drawing.  Now this feels right.  After looking closly at a image of a Jaguar I changed the spots on the so they are more irregular – It looked weird at first – but its the right thing.  My furred witness.

It’s been tough getting the white luminous figure to be a-sexual.  I think I have it now.  You’ll see later, I’ll take another shot when I have started to add the greens.

Beyond the bone in the Grace room – in progress

…Grace room – color study

Face first and maybe last

Happy Fa-reaking 2013!  Here’s hoping all our trials will be won, with lessons learned.

The year of the Snake starts in February.  Here comes grounding and shedding what no longer serves us.

OK.

So, over a year ago I started collecting faces that spoke to me.

The thing started with a fantastic shot of the happiest face I had ever seen.  A friends husband  had summited Everest. The shot of him on the top of the world radiates such joy I had to do SOMETHING with it. The collection of faces started – mostly human emotive archetypes. But why? Don’t  know. So far the original image scraps from newspapers and screen shots are in a folder. I have done several drawings, here’s one.

Some  came from television…I love shooting off the TV, its so iffy. I have Don Draper, Number one, and King Leonides plus Rachel from Bladerunner (you get my drift).

Maybe something will come of this collection – for now it’s back burner stuff, still warm.

“The universe is a hologram” drawing 11×14″ 2o12

Winter’s Bite

I know! It’s been awhile!

Time flies when your computer becomes unreliable, your mother becomes ill and dies – and grief rolls out. Loss, Pain, healing. None of us, exempt.

Then a new computer. Work is finished – of all kinds – then work starts.

“Urge” finished to my liking.  Pretty personal stuff. But WHAT IS ART if not personal expression?

I also did several drawings for a portrait series. I am not sure it’s going to gel in the way I at first imagined.  Then, a painting on paper of a vision in the afternoon in Maine “Un-time everlight shine”.  A day spent in absolute leisure. Rare, indeed. A day of seeing, breathing little doing.

I taught 3 delightful boys to believe utterly in the power of the imagination. Rich stuff.  More to come in January at the Jamestown Art Center.

A new series is perking. 7 paintings aligned with the power in the chakras. From the personal to the universal. It’s the way.

“Urge” mixed media on panel 11×14″ 2012

Un-time everlight shine 12×30″ 2012 oil on paper

Transient,Transformed, and Freaky

Yeah, I bit her toes off. I can recall

URGE in progress 2012

URGE detail

Immortality for a day 2 continued 2012

the URGE, I admit it.  The need to bite out of some kind of childhood frustration I cringe from revealing.  So I find this naked doll as I have many many times. This time it’s final, the house is getting cleared out and stuff, all of it,  HAS TO GO.

Setting  frenzy aside I consider the doll.  Art bound, now; A work in progress like I was,  and continue to be.  Now its made semi-permanent by modeling paste, gesso and words scored  into the now hard goo.

I kind of avoid it.  It sits white and mute, for the next session.

I have a large painting to finish.

I have the balance of Summer with its golden expansion to enjoy.

Things.  People.  Animals.  Flowers.  Water.